Couldn't Stay Away
by Sylin17
Summary: Warning: Chapter one has HUGE SPOILERS, go see the avengers first before you read this! Summery: What if Jane and Darcy hadn't stayed in Washington, away from the battle in New York? And what if Darcy happens to meet a certain arrow wielding Avenger? I guess we'll find out
1. Chapter 1

**Warning:**** This first chapter pretty much gives away the ending of The Avengers, so if you haven't seen it don't read it yet unless you don't mind spoilers. I did change it though by adding Darcy into the mix.**

**AN:**** This is my second fanfic, I've recently become a huge fan of Clint and I wanted to write him something. So here it is! I have another story in progress; it's in the Thor section called **_**Life and Love Unexpected**_**. It's a Loki/Darcy pairing. Please go check it out and let me know what you think!**

**With this story please review and let me know what you think about it, reviews are much appreciated and always a big help when I'm writing!**

**Disclaimer:**** I own nothing. Though I wish I did! **

_**Chapter 1**_

"Hawkeye, got anything for me?" Iron Man said through the com link that connected every member of the Avengers team.

Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye, was standing on the roof a tall build, shooting down Chitauri from the air and keeping an eye on the ground battles.

"Thor's taking down a squadron down on 6th."

"And he didn't invite me." Stark zoomed off to the battle.

Turning, Clint let an arrow loose on a Chitauri that was attempting to climb onto the roof. After a few more shots Clint looked over the side of the building to see how Cap and Natasha were doing on the ground. Instead he saw two civilian women at the base of the building.

"What the hell? Stark are you nearby?"

"Me and Thor are on our way to you? Need any back-up?"

"Not at the moment, I have what looks like two civilian women at the base of my building. They need to be cleared out a.s.a.p."

"Got it."

A moment later Stark and Thor landed a few yards from the two women. After a moment's pause he saw one girl make a beeline for Thor, whose arms were wide open. He couldn't be sure, but he could swear they were kissing.

"Tony, what's going on down there?"

"It would seem the pleasant Jane Foster and her assistant were getting fed up with S.H.I.E.L.D and came to take care of the problem personally."

"Did they not see the news?" Clint turned away from the scene bellow to shoot more Chitauri. "Hurry up. These guys don't care for happy reunions."

"Got some good news for you." Tony was already landing on the roof by the time Clint turned around. He paused when he noticed the girl in his arms.

"Thor took Jane somewhere she could be safe but failed to notice this girl here, Darcy was it?" After the girl in question gave a quick nod he continued, "was with Jane, so I'm going to leave her with you."

"What? I can't watch her."

"Too late. Have fun kiddies." Placing the girl down on her feet, Stark took off in the direction of Captain America and Natasha.

"Crap." Looking the girl over he couldn't help but approve a little. She stood about 5 foot 7, long black hair, slim but looked like she had some tone to her, and she wasn't hysterical, like most women would be in this situation.

"Can you shoot a gun?"

"Yeah, but I like my taser more."

"A taser isn't going to work on these guys. Take this." Clint handed her the sole gun he carried with him. Turning back to the skies around him he shot another Chitauri and it crashed into two others.

"Wow, nice shot. No wonder they have you all the way up here."

"I see better from a distance."

"I can tell-" Turning around she let loose three shots at another Chitauri attempting to scale the side of the building. It fell like a ton of rocks.

"Nice shot." Clint had to admit, he was impressed with her.

"Thanks."

* * *

Darcy watched as the man with the wicked looking bow took down three more aliens without even looking at them. Then he glanced down at the ground and shot one behind him without a single glance.

_He has skill. _Darcy paused and looked the man over.

_And a lot of muscle._

Darcy blushed slightly at that thought and turned away, aiming her gun and taking down another alien. In all honesty she was scared spit-less right now, but there was this eerie calm around her she was sure would pass once this was all over.

"Nat, what are you doing?"

"Uh, a little help." A woman with bright red hair was riding on one of the aliens from what Darcy could see, and standing close to the man she could hear the woman's voice, Nat, over his com.

A small smile played on the man's lips as he raised his bow.

"I got him." Taking a moment to aim, he let the arrow go. Darcy could see Loki, Thor's evil little brother, catch it.

"Oh no-" Before she could finish her sentence, she saw Loki look back and smirk, and then the arrow exploded in his hand and sent him flying.

"Ok, now that was cool." Darcy laughed for a moment and looked up to meet the man's eyes.

"Thanks." There stares were locked for a moment longer, and the blush on Darcy's cheeks was spreading and getting warmer. As she turned away she noticed how three more aliens were climbing onto the roof.

Shooting her gun she noticed the man in charge of protecting her was starting to get overpowered, six or seven of the aliens climbing at once. They couldn't stay up here much longer.

"Darcy!" The archer yelled at her, and she ran over to him. He immediately wrapped her arms around his neck. "Hold on tight and brace yourself."

"Why-" The man jumped off the roof. Darcy had just started to scream when he turned midair and fired his last arrow, which she saw was attached to a rope of some kind, and it attached itself to the wall. Pulling hard on the bow the man swung them into a window, crashing through it. Darcy let go once they hit the ground, rolling away from him.

"Ok, that hurt like hell, but was still pretty cool."

"Yeah." The man's word was clipped as he grimaced and his body tightened up for a moment.

"Are you alright?" Darcy crawled over to help him sit up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The man rubbed his forearm as he looked her over. "Are you ok?"

"I'm good. Hey, what's your name?"

"Clint. I was wondering when you were going to ask." A low laugh escaped him as he stood and helped her to her feet.

"Clint." Darcy said his name, testing it out. She liked it. "Nice. Ok Clint, so what's the plan from here?"

"I need to get you to safety. Then I'm going out to help kick some more Chitauri butt, and hopefully Loki's as well."

"Why Loki?"

Clint looked at her a moment then glanced away. "Maybe another time kid."

"Hey! I'm not a kid. I'm 23."

"And I'm 33."

"Seriously? You sure don't look like it." Darcy blushed bright red a moment later. "Not that I'm checking you out or…that's not what I…uhhh."

Clint grabbed her shoulders, laughing while he said, "Calm down, I know what you meant."

"Ok, good."

"Good. Now follow me." Clint walked away and stood in front of the broken window, looking up. Darcy followed his lead and saw that the roof had been over run.

"So now what?"

"We take the stairs. Come on." Clint pried open the stairwell door and started to walk down the steps. His bow was loaded and ready at his side. Darcy held her gun at the ready.

Once on the ground floor they left the building. Running down the street they quickly came across the main fight. It seemed that the Avengers there had it under control and were quickly eliminating the surrounding enemies.

"Darcy, hold back, it looks like they have it under control and we'd just get in their way right now."

* * *

"I can close it! Does anyone copy? I can close the portal!" Clint Heard Natasha yell over the com link. He leaned down so Darcy could hear as well.

"Close it!" Captain America yelled.

"No, wait! I have a nuke coming in ready to blow in less than a minute…and I know just where to put it." Iron Man said, a second later he was hurtling over them and up the side of Stark Tower. Another moment passed and he was through the portal.

"Come one Stark." Natasha mumbled.

"Close it." Captain said after a few more seconds' hesitation.

A huge flash of blue light exploded up the beam that was the portal and it started to rapidly close. A split second before it was gone Starts limp body came falling through.

Thor started to swing his hammer. "He's not slowing down." The Hulk came out of nowhere and grabbed Tony from midair, shielding his body with his own as they crashed to the street.

Clint ran over with Darcy close on his heels as the Hulk rolled him onto the ground and Thor ripped his mask off. Steve started to shake his head. Then the Hulk roared and Tony yelled out.

"Ah! What the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me!"

Everyone let out a relived chuckle.

Steve was the one to answer him. "We won."


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN:**_ I'm soooo sorry it has taken me this long to update! I didn't realize it has been so long! Again sorry! Anyway on with the chapter, this one has a bit less action (that'll change in the next one, promise!) but you get to see more about Clint and Darcy.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I own nothing, I wish I did though!

_**Please review! Anyone and everyone who reads this leave a comment, suggestion, anything! Reviews always help me and they let me know people actually want to read more! Thank you!**_

_**Chapter 2**_

Clint stood next to Natasha as Thor prepared to leave with Loki. Dr. Banner was standing next to the silver convertible with Stark. Steve stood away from everyone, leaning against his bike as his eyes never left the Tesseract. Darcy stood awkwardly off to the side next to Jane, who was in a passionate embrace with Thor.

Walking over, Clint wrapped an arm around Darcy's shoulders.

"Hey there." Clint mock whispered into her ear.

"Hey, Nice shades." Darcy said, turning her head.

Clint pulled the purple tinted sun glasses down to rest on the edge of his nose.

"Thanks." Before he could even get the word out Darcy had plucked the glasses off his nose and was sliding them on to cover her own eyes.

"Purple's my color."

Clint stared at her for a moment and then let out a quite chuckle. "I'm going to need those back soon."

"Well that you're going to have to come and get them then."

Clint paused and watched Darcy carefully.

_Was she giving him an open invitation to see her again?_

All Darcy did was wink and look back over at Thor and Jane, how had pulled apart by now. Thor walked away to stand in the middle of the group, next to his brother who was cuffed and wearing a silver muzzle.

Dr. Banner walked over and handed Thor a casket that had a golden handle on either side of a glass tube that held the Tesseract, so they wouldn't have to touch it while they transported to Asgard. With a quick nod Thor turned the handle and the brothers were gone.

Right after the burst of blue light had faded Tony Stark and Dr. Banner walked up to Jane, who was now holding on to Darcy as Clint stood close by with Natasha.

"Would the two of you like to join us at Stark Tower?" Dr. Banner was polite and seemed a little shy. With his dark brown hair, glasses, and plaid shirt, Darcy never would have guessed he turned into a giant, green monster.

"Dr. Foster, it would be amazing to work with you, I've read about the work you have been doing that S.H.I.E.L.D. had on file and I'm extremely curious." Darcy chuckled silently as Dr. Banner praised Jane's work in astrophysics. Tony glanced at Darcy. "And Miss Lewis seems like a very interesting person."

Darcy blushed slightly. "Can I go to sleep once we're at the tower?"

Tony answered quickly, "Yes you can."

"I'm in then. Jane?"

With a shrug Jane answered; "Sure, why not, it's not like we had previous arrangements."

"Excellent. Follow me then." With that Tony turned on his heels and walked to the silver car, climbing into the driver's seat as Dr. Banner took the passengers.

"Go on, get in the car, I'll be there in just a second." Jane walked off and Darcy turned to the archer still standing close to her. "So what's going on with you?"

"Tasha and I are heading to the tower for a few days off. I take it that's where you'll be for the next few days at least?"

"It would seem so. I'll catch you later archer boy." Darcy nudged Clint's shoulder with her own and quickly walked to Tony's car, his purple sun glasses still squarely on her face.

Darcy later found herself walking down a long hallway on the twelfth floor of Stark Tower, alone, following Jarvis' voice.

"Your room is the next door on the left Miss Lewis."

"Thank you Jarvis. Though I must ask why my room is a whole floor up from Jane's?"

"We had not been expecting you. We will have your room switched to one near Miss Fosters as soon as we can."

"Oh it's alright; I'll live without being he neighbor for once."

Darcy wrapped her hand around the door handle, taking a breath before opening the door to her new "home". Letting the air out of her lungs slowly she spun in a circle, taking it all in. The living room was large, with an arm chair and a large, black leather couch in the middle. Darcy eyed the flat screen TV on the wall with the sound system and other gadgets underneath it. There was a small kitchen with brown granite countertops and shiny silver and black appliances.

Walking forward she went down the short hallway on the other side of the living room. Noticing three regular size doors and a very skinny one, she opened the first normal sized door on her right.

_Holy master bedroom._

Darcy walked slowly to the large, king size bed. There were more floor to ceiling windows, a large walk in closet, and various pieces of furniture up against the walls. Taking a running leap Darcy collapsed onto the bed, sinking down three inches. Sighing, she closed her eyes and faded into sleep.

Clint walked quickly down the hallways, following the directions Jarvis had given him to Darcy's rooms. Finding the door, he pounded on the wood louder than necessary. They had only been at Stark Tower for a day, and already he and Natasha were being called in for another mission.

Growing impatient, Clint pounded on the door a second time.

Faintly a female voice sounded out from the other side.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming, hold your horses." Darcy pulled the heavy door open to see Clint standing in full battle gear, his bow over his shoulder and across his back along with his arrows.

"Going already?" Darcy stepped back to allow him to walk into the room.

"Yeah, at least for a few days. Fury called Natasha and I in."

"Ahh, well then, hopefully you'll be back soon." Darcy closed the door and just looked at Clint. With his back to her while he studied her living room, she studied him. Darcy walked around Clint, bumping her shoulder against his as she made her way through the narrow entrance hall and into the kitchen, where she had been making a pot of coffee.

"Do you like it here?" Clint followed her into the kitchen and leaned against the marble countertop. He looked genuinely interested in her response.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice here, but it's only been one night so i haven't seen more than the inside of this 'room'." Darcy made small air quotes around the word room. It was a massive apartment if you asked her, more like a condo.

Clint chuckled and watched as Darcy finished up with the coffee pot.

_She is a good looking girl, maybe...no._ Clint shook his head and stood up, he was a decade older than her, and he needed to remember that.

"Darcy, I need my glasses."

"Oh right, here I'll go get them." AS she walked away Clint had a hard time keeping his eyes to himself.

"So is it a if-you-told-me-you'd-have-to-kill-me kind of mission?" Darcy called out from the other room. She rummaged on her dresser top and found his purple sunglasses under a pile of fresh clothes that hadn't been there the day before. With a shrug Darcy left her bedroom to find Clint starring at the coffee pot.

"Something like that, yeah." His blue/green eyes never leaving the pot filling with steaming brown liquid.

"Would you like some or do you not have time?"

"I have about another" Clint glanced at the silver framed clock on the wall, "half hour." He smiled at Darcy when she pulled two white mugs from a nearby cabinet.

"How do you-" Darcy started to ask.

"Black." Darcy gave him a side long look as she filled the mugs. Adding cream and sugar to her own, she lifted them up and made her way to the black leather couch in the middle of her living room.

"Come on, and sit down. Did you even sleep last night?" Darcy placed the mugs on the coffee table before plopping down onto the squishy black cushions.

"Not really." He left it at that, not wanting to explain his past and the nightmares that still plagued him from his youth; maybe he'd explain at another time, once he had gotten to know her better. Clint sat down next to Darcy and hid his groan as his body relaxed. At least he thought he hid it.

Darcy smiled and handed him his mug. "I want to ask you what was keeping you up, but i can tell you don't want to explain further. I'll bring this back up later just so you know, but not now, you need to stay focused so you don't get shot in the butt or something."

Clint choked on his coffee as a startled laugh escaped him. Darcy laughed even harder at that and bounced up from the couch to get him a towel to wipe up the spilled coffee.

Once Darcy returned, and the coffee had been cleaned up, they settled back into the couch. Clint's eyes kept wondering between the clock behind Darcy's left shoulder and her dark brown eyes. She wore no makeup yet, and she looked good without it. Her eyes a rich brown, her cheeks faintly tinted pink and he lips a shade above red. Her skin was a mix between tan and pale as summer turned to fall and the opportunities for tanning in the sun slimmed to nothing.

They said some idle chit chat as they finished their coffee. Clint stood and stretched, his arms moving above his head. Darcy's eyes snapped down to his stomach as his black Kevlar vest rose with his shoulders, pulling up and uncovering a small strip of skin at his waist.

_Keep your eyes to yourself._ Darcy stood and brought the mugs to the kitchen sink, idly smiling to herself even as she made a mental note to scold herself about ogling guys once Clint left.

"I need to get going." Clint leaned against the door frame into the kitchen, one shoulder resting against the wood, his legs crossed at the ankle, as he looked in on her.

"Alright, oh!" Darcy pulled his glasses from her sweat pants pocket, she walked up to Clint. Opening the little arms, Darcy stood on tip toe and placed the glasses on Clint's nose, sliding them into place. One hand came to rest on his chest as she looked into his eyes through the purple tinted plastic.

His body was screaming for him to do something, anything. Wrap his arms around her, run his hand through her hair, _kiss her._ His mind was yelling at him to turn and leave now, before anything could happen between them. Before he could decide on what to do, Darcy pulled away and walked to the front door.

"You're late, soldier boy." She smiled up at him as he grabbed his bow and arrows from the corner near the door.

"Soldier boy now, huh? Just wait till I get back, you'll see the 'soldier boy' in action."

"Oh?" Darcy gave him a sly smile and stood on tip toe again. She pressed her lips against his cheek.

"We'll see about that. Thanks for the company this morning." Settling down onto her feet, she looked at his face. His cheeks looked a few shades darker than before.

"Yeah you will. Paintball, how 'bout a game when I get back?"

"Paintball? You're on."

Thinking quickly Clint leaned down to her, his lips brushing her cheek as well.

"Good. Thanks for the coffee and the challenge." Turning on his heel, he opened the door and left, not looking back. As he ran down the hallways to the hanger on the roof, he couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face.

Darcy moved her hand to her cheek, brushing the spot her had kissed as she closed her door. Walking quickly to the bathroom to shower and get ready for her day, Darcy pondered his words.

_Paintball?_

Darcy smiled as she started the shower and closed the door. He was going to lose that game when he got back.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **Thank you to everyone who has favorite, added me to their author alerts, and reviewed this story! It warms my heart a little each time I see a new email that someone liked the story!

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing except the plot line.

**PLEASE REVIEW!** Leave any kind of comment (good or bad), anything you would like to see happen, anything at all! **Reviews keep me going here people!**

_**Chapter 3:**_

After her shower, Darcy dressed in a white t-shirt, jean shorts, and sneakers. Leaving her room, Darcy made her way to Jane's door, knocking once before pushing open the door.

"Jane? Are you here?" Darcy called into the seemingly empty apartment. Darcy walked around the living room, looking around. It was just like hers, the décor and furnishings the same.

After a moment Darcy started to walk to the front door again, shaking her head. Her boss must have already woken up and gone off to explore the building. Just as Darcy's hand wrapped around the silver handle she heard a faint noise at the other end of the large apartment.

"Darcy?" The sound was louder now, Jane's voice sounding breathy and rushed. Jane herself came stumbling out of the master bedroom, a green bathrobe wrapped around herself. "Darcy, I wasn't expecting you to be here so early." Jane stuttered off into nothing. Jane never stuttered.

"Jane, what's going on?" Darcy asked, her voice rising slightly at the thought of Jane trying to hide something. To answer her question, the master bedroom door opened once again and out stumbled a near naked god of thunder. Thor had a white bed sheet wrapped around his waist, his long blonde hair tangled and a huge smile plastered to his face.

"Lady Darcy! It is a pleasure to see you again!" Thor walked over, his large arms stretched out to give Darcy a bone crushing hug.

Darcy quickly stepped away, lifting her hands to ward off the giant man. "No hugs Thor, not until you have real clothes on please."

Thor let out a bellowing laugh and stepped back to wrap one arm around Jane's shoulders.

"You know what Jane, I'll just go explore on my own, I'll leave you with Thor." Darcy turned away and opened the front door. "You two have fun!" Darcy called out in a sing song voice as she closed the heavy wooden door. Walking a few meters down the hall, Darcy paused and leaned against a wall.

_Where to go first?_

Her metal question was answered when the elevator at the end of the hall opened its doors to show none other than Tony Stark, dressed in dark jeans and a black t-shirt, his arc reactor chest piece shining through the thin material.

"Well hello there Miss Lewis. I was on my way to get you and Miss Foster."

Darcy smirked. "She's a little busy right now. Thor's back already."

Tony shrugged and gestured for Darcy to step into the elevator. "Good, point break needed to relieve some stress. Come on, I'll give you the grand tour." Once Darcy was fully in the elevator, Tony pushed a button for the twenty-third level and gave Darcy a once over.

"Can I help you?" Darcy asked with sarcasm dripping from her words.

"I'm trying to think of a nickname for you, I have one for everyone."

"So what's everyone else's?" Darcy balanced on her tip toes for a moment when the elevator doors opened again into what she could see as a gym. Stepping out she saw the white walls were decorated with various training weapons and boxing equipment. A large boxing ring was in the corner to the right and a large, metal door on the left.

Tony pulled out his phone and started to fiddle with it before answering her question.

"Cap is Capsicals, Thor is point break, Barton is Francis, Banner is enormous green rage monster, and Romanoff is still up for debate. I can't seem to find one for her that fits."

"Why is Barton Francis?" Darcy walked around the perimeter of the gym, Tony close on her heels.

"That's his middle name; it was listed in S.H.I.E.L.D.S. database."

Darcy made a small noise in the back of her throat to let him know she heard him, but her attention was glued to the metal door opposite her.

"It's a shooting range. New addition now that the Avengers will be staying here." Tony shrugged his shoulders. "Come on, there is a lot more to see, and I have to show you how to use Jarvis to his full potential.

The tour lasted the better part of the day, wrapping up around four pm. Tony proved to be a very animated person when he chose to be, and he was great company once you got past the narcissistic attitude. Tony left her outside her rooms with a small comment over his shoulder that there was a meeting the next morning in the conference room on the top floor at eight o'clock sharp and to not be late.

Darcy hesitated. She didn't want to go into her rooms yet. Shaking her head, Darcy opened her door and made her way to the couch. Stretching out she grabbed the tv remote and started flipping through the channels. After an hour or so of this a high pitched chirping sounded from the kitchen counter. Turning her head, Darcy saw a blue square of light shining on the marble.

Darcy stood and walked over. It was a phone similar to Tony's, the body of the phone clear and the ends a black bar.

"New phone and I'm already getting a call?" Darcy picked the phone up and checked the name that had popped up. _Clint Barton._ What in the world?

"Hello?" Darcy asked hesitantly, not sure if it really was him.

"Hey there." Clint's deep voice sounded out from the tiny speaker.

"You're my first call; I didn't even know I got a new phone until it started ringing on the counter."

Clint laughed softly. "Nice, I'm not surprised Stark didn't tell you. Anyway I was calling to see if you wanted-" A loud booming squealed out of the phone. Darcy yanked the phone away from her ear and glared at it. The sound of gun shots going off and yelling sounded out soon after, in the confusion she could hear Clint, yelling out to the other men and women with him. Darcy walked over to the couch and sat down, not daring to hang the phone up, but too engaged in what she was hearing to focus on anything else.

The yelling and fighting lasted half an hour according to the phones timer. Slowly, the sound died down. Darcy pulled the phone close, hoping to hear Clint's voice and know he was ok. After another five minutes passed Darcy shook her head, he might have forgotten the phone altogether in the chaos or thought it destroyed. Just as she was about to push the disconnect button, a raspy voice called out to her.

"Darcy, you there?"

"Clint! Are you ok?" Darcy gripped the phone tight in her fist.

"Yeah…yeah I'm ok. Just a little beat up but nothing to serious. I am on a mission anyway, and I really shouldn't be on the phone with you, but I had to ask you something." Clint rambled off. He paused for a moment. "Would you have dinner with me when I get back to the tower? I shouldn't be gone much longer."

Darcy pulled the phone away from her head and pressed it into her chest to cover the microphone. A high pitched, girly giggle escaped her lips and she did a little happy dance in her seat. Darcy pulled the phone back to her head.

"Yes, I'd love to have dinner with you Clint." Clint laughed softly.

Darcy was on the phone for another few minutes with Clint, talking about unimportant things and idle chit chat. Once they said goodnight Darcy stood from the couch and stretched her tight muscles. Stuffing her phone in her pocket Darcy clicked the tv off and walked in the dark to her bed, quickly changing into pajamas before climbing under the soft cover.

* * *

Darcy forgot to set her alarm the night before.

When she opened her eyes the next morning it was to see Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Jane standing over her bed staring down at her.

"Morning sunshine, get enough sleep?" Tony asked sarcastically, her new nickname bringing a smile to his lips.

_Fantastic, _Darcy thought, a glare creasing her forehead as she watched the trio.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Honestly guy's I'm so sorry it has taken me this long to update this story (and I'm sorry to those who are following my other story as well!) I just couldn't think of anything I could say I was happy with. But now that is over! (hopefully)**

**Thank you to all who have followed and reviewed this story! You are all fantastic! and for those of you who haven't...****_PLEASE_**** REVIEW!**

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot line.

* * *

**Chapter** **4:**

"I tried to stop him but he insisted on coming to get you himself Miss Lewis." The captain said in a very formal voice, his eyes darting over to glare at Tony.

"What can I say, I'm a hands on kind of man." Tony winked at Darcy before turning on the spot and walking out of the room, calling over his shoulder before he left completely. "Better hurry up there sunshine, Fury is not a patient man."

Jane shook her head, her light brown hair falling in front of her face. Brushing it aside impatiently Jane looked Darcy over quickly.

"He's right though. Fury was mad when you didn't show up, and he nearly exploded when Tony took off to come get you, I can't imagine what the others are dealing with now that Captain Rogers and I left as well."

Darcy sighed and stood up, tugging her tank top back into place after noticing the captains blush.  
"I'm just...going to go now." Steve left in a rush, fumbling over his words for the first time that Darcy had heard. It brought a smile to her lips that she could make the mighty Captain America act like a shy sixteen year old.

"Alright, alright, just let me get changed and try to resemble a human, wait for me?"

Jane smiled and left the room with a nod.

Darcy sighed again and shook her head, walking to her dresser and pulling a pair of blue jeans and a purple t-shirt from the depths. Her mind flashed briefly to Clint's armor and the purple he wore before she shook her head sharply and got dressed. After grabbing her phone and Ipod, Darcy joined Jane in the hallway and they walked arm in arm back to the meeting room.

Around the table sat all the Avengers, Agent Coulson (who was sitting stiffly after just having been released from medical a few day's ago) Maria Hill, and finally Director Fury. The only two seats available for them was one between Steve Rogers and Clint, the other next to Fury. Darcy was going to make a beeline for the seat between the two heroes before she noticed Jane's stuff on the table in front of the seat. Jane herself gave Darcy an apologetic look before walking to her seat. Darcy carefully sat down, avoiding the Directors angry glare.

"Nice of you to join us Miss Lewis. Please remember to be on time next time." The silent _if there is a next time_ was blatantly obvious.

"Sorry." It sounded lame even to Darcy but it was all she could think to say.

Fury looked away after a moment, turning back to the crowd at the table. "Agents Barton, Romanoff, and Captain Rogers, you have a debrief scheduled for later this afternoon with Agent Coulson."

Clint sighed heavily from his seat and leaned back, slouching down in his seat clearly unhappy with that news.

"Understood sir." Steve glanced over at Clint with a small smirk on his lips which didn't look half bad, but Clint's face was priceless.

The next three hours passed by at a snails passed after that.

* * *

Darcy breathed a sigh of relief as she walked into the hallway with Jane. Agent Coulson walked out after them.

"Miss Lewis, may I have a moment?"

Darcy sighed and let go of Jane's arm. "You go on, I'll be down in the lab before you can miss me." Turning, Darcy came face to face with the Ipod stealer from New Mexico.

"What can I do for you?"

Coulson handed over a thin manila folder. "Read the file and contact me if you are interested. I'm sure you do not wish to remain an intern forever." Agent Coulson turned on his heel and left the hallway. Darcy blinked a few times before opening the file. Inside were complete profiles on all the Avengers, Agents Coulson and Hill, and a sparse description on Director Fury. Also included was a detailed description of the job offer Coulson was presenting her with.

"A secretary slash babysitter for the Avengers...well then. Why me?"

"Well I'd need to know the subject to know why you were picked." A deep voice answered from behind her.

Darcy jumped a foot in the air, dropping the open file to the ground. "Damnit." Turning she saw Clint already stooping to collect the scattered papers. Standing back up, Clint had his profile turned so Darcy could see it.

"Well would you look at this handsome devil. You should go out with him."

Darcy laughed quietly and snatched the file away from Clint, turning to keep it out of his hands when he tried to snatch it back.

"Nope, no touchy birdbrain."

"Birdbrain?! That's uncalled for." Clint's attempt at hurt feelings was ruined by the small smile turning up the corners of lips.

"Then it's perfect. Anyway, this is Coulson's way of saying I can move on to bigger and better things then being Jane's lab assistant. I'm actually surprised he thought of me." Darcy thumbed the edge of the folder, a small smile of pride spreading across her face.

"What's the position anyway that would require profiles on all of us?" Clint asked as the pair walked down the hallway to the nearby elevator.

"Officially to be Agent Coulson's new assistant, unofficially to be the babysitter in training for the Avengers."

"Babysitter? We don't need a babysitter." Clint thought about this for a moment before adding, "ok, yeah we do."

Darcy nodded in agreement and pushed the button for the elevator. A comfortable silence fell between the two while they got in and traveled down to the labs. Clint turned to her, a glint of humor in his eyes and another emotion Darcy couldn't name. "Tomorrow night, seven o'clock. Dress nice.

Darcy chuckled softly and smiled, "Alright, I'll be ready. Where are you taking me agent?"

Clint smirked as the elevator doors dinged open, "It's a surprise for now."

Together the two walked down the bleached white hallway lined with silver doors to the science labs occupied by Jane. As soon as Darcy walked in, Jane pointed behind herself to a large pile of papers and folders that seemed to be multiplying before her eyes.

"Jane, how did all this get here in one night?!"

Jane simply shrugged and focused on the science in front of her.

A head covered in thick, slightly curly salt and pepper hair popped up from behind the large stack of files. "I'm sorry about this Miss Lewis, most of this is my fault. Bruce Banner." The man stuck out is hand and Darcy shook it, smiling warmly.

Darcy shook her head and set her own little file down off to the side to keep it separate from the mass in front of her. "Alright, well I'll start on this and hopefully have half of it put away by the end of the day. And Jane, we are working normal hours today, no more staying to eleven because you have one more calculation to do."

Jane just nodded, writing something down in the nearest notebook. Darcy sighed and started to sort out the giant pile while Clint perused the file Darcy had set down and Dr. Banner was immersed in the computer in front of him.

"You know, I hate you science types sometimes, the paper work is killer" Darcy muttered as she got the first of many paper cuts.

* * *

Darcy stumbled back into her apartment around seven that night, completely exhausted and hungry. Walking to her fridge, Darcy pulled out her phone, dialing the newly added phone number. Trapping the phone between her shoulder and ear, Darcy raided her kitchen for anything to munch on.

"Coulson." A neutral voice answered after the fourth ring.

"Can I call you bossman now?" Darcy pulled out what was left of the salmon she made the other night.

Coulson let out a slight chuckle through the tiny speaker. "Only in private. You're excepting the position?"

"I figured I might as well, all new opportunities and I don't want to be an assistant forever, no matter how much I love Jane, half the time I can't understand what she's saying." Darcy placed the leftovers in the microwave before leaning back against the counter.

"Good. Meet me in my office at eight sharp tomorrow morning for a full briefing; and please remember to set your alarm this time."

Darcy blushed slightly and laughed as the microwave peeped loudly for her attention.

"Understood sir." Darcy fake saluted even though she was alone.

"Until then miss Lewis." Coulson hung up and Darcy slid her phone into her pocket, grabbed her dinner and went to her room, setting her alarm before she sat down and flipped the TV on. She fell asleep with a full stomach and a smile on her lips.

* * *

**Finally! Lets hope I can get back on track with updating now. Next chapter will have more Darcy/Clint in it, promise!**

**_PLEASE__ REVIEW!_ They make me better as well as the story. And if you haven't already check out my other story _Life and Love Unexpected, _it's a Loki/Darcy pairing.**

**Another announcement is that I may be starting a Darcy/Steve story, though it may only be a one-shot, not sure yet, I'll keep ya posted!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:**** Fianlly writing again, I've been stuck in this funk and every time I looked at one of my stories I was like, nope, not gonna happen today...for, gosh, how long has it been!? I'm sorry! Anyway, this chapter can be classified as almost solely fluffy Clint/Darcy goodness. I _PROMISE_ the next chapter will have much, much more action in it!**

**_REVIEW!_ They remind me why I need to keep writing!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot.**

* * *

Darcy walked into Agent Coulson's office five minutes early, just to be on the safe side. Said agent was sitting behind his desk, hands folded neatly on top of the polished wood, the usual assortment of files, pens and pads of paper you would find on any office desk spread out within easy reaching distance.

"Miss Lewis, thank you for coming."

"If I'm going to work for you we need to establish the rule that I hate being called Miss Lewis. Darcy, Darce, or any other variation of my name works just fine though."

Coulson chuckled quietly and gestured to the seat across from him. Darcy sat, nervously smoothing out her skirt. A moment later she was handed a larger file from the desk.

"This is a full description of your official job as well as my own little add in of what else you will be doing."

"So what is my official title?"

"You are my secretary." Coulson's face showed no emotion what-so-ever.

Darcy rolled her eyes. _Intern to secretary, fantastic._

She must have spoken out loud because a small smirk cracked Coulson's stoic expression.

"Now then, in the folder is also the form you will need to sign before accepting this position."

So for the next hour Darcy read over the forms and had her questions answered in detail by Agent Coulson. Once she had signed the last form, the file disappeared into a draw of the agents desk and he stood up, hand outstretched.

"I will see you tomorrow morning at seven. Come here and I will show you everything you will need."

Darcy stood as well and shook the offered hand. "I'm looking forward to it bossman." With a small wave Darcy left the office of her new boss, leaving the man behind as he suppressed the urge to smile wider.

* * *

Darcy walked into her apartment after a day of hard science with Jane. Which means Darcy spent the whole time quickly transcribing Jane's notes into the computer as she became dead to the world around her and solely focused on whatever breakthrough she was about to uncover.

However, the body sprawled out on her couch was a surprise and immediately had her wide awake and reaching for her taser.

"Calm down, it's just me." The man's voice, Clint she now realized, was exhausted and strained.

"How did you get in here? You know what, never mind, super spy and all. Better one, why are you here?"

Clint sat up slowly and looked over, his face was bruised and held a few cuts that she could see spread down is arms and neck, disappearing under his shirt. "Lets just say Coulson took my exploding arrows for the time being."

Darcy dropped her bags to the floor and sat beside Clint, gently turning his head to look him over, he was covered in a thick layer of crime as well.

"What did you blow up?!"

Clint looked down and she could swear there was a blush on his cheeks. "My apartment..."

Darcy rubbed her face before standing pulling her jackets off, draping it over the back of the couch and walking to the kitchen.

"Come in here." Darcy turned the sink on and grabbed a washcloth as Clint shuffled in. "Shirt off."

"And I haven't even gotten a kiss and she's already making me strip." Clint muttered with a small smirk that changed to a grimace as he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing a number of cuts along his shoulders and back.

Darcy gently began to clean the cuts lacing Clint's back. "Some of these are pretty deep Clint."

"Trust me I've had worse. Right now the soreness is getting me, I did only just get back from a kick in the balls mission to have my apartment explode on me."

"You just can't catch a break, and you blew it up yourself cause I know you just toss you arrows wherever when you get home. Natasha told me how you blew a wall out of your last place too."

Clint's body shook under Darcy hand as he laughed quietly. "That one was not my fault. She threw on of my arrows at me and it stuck in the wall."

Darcy simply rolled her eyes and dumped the cloth in the sink. "Do you have anywhere to stay or is that why you broke into my place and stole my couch?"

Clint turned to face Darcy, his exhaustion carefully hidden behind his mask. "If you want me to leave I will, no hassle."

Darcy just rolled her eyes again and when to the closest closet, pulling out a spare blanket and tossing it to Clint, who caught it while he kept his eyes trained on Darcy's face, a small smile playing at the corner of his slightly chapped lips.

"Thank you Darcy."

"You're lucky I'm a sap for half naked super spies." Darcy winked and walked to her own room, closing the door so she could change into her shorts and t-shirt. She was about to climb into bed when she grabbed two pillows and her blanket and walked back out into the living room. Clint was sitting up on the couch, the blanket draped over his lap and his eyes focused on something outside the window. Darcy tossed the pillow at the back of his head but he turned in time to catch it.

His eyes fell to the blanket wrapped around her and the other pillow in her hand. All he did was raise an eyebrow before moving over and making room for her. Darcy sat down and reached for the tv remote, turning on the DVD player and starting the first episode of Firefly without even a glance at Clint to see if he minded.

Clint chuckled and stretched his arms over the back of the couch, reclining back. "I love this show."

"Seriously?"

Clint nodded, his eyes honest as they met Darcy's. "How can you not love anything Joss Wedon?"

Darcy smiled brightly and relaxed back as well, both focusing on the screen.

Slowly throughout the next few episodes the pair drifted closer together, the gap between their bodies growing smaller. Clint's arm shifted from the back of the couch to Darcy's shoulders mid way through episode two, while Darcy shifted close enough to rest her head on his shoulder, pillow clutched in her lap, at the beginning of episode three. By the end of episode four Darcy stood, turned the tv off and pushed Clint down until he was laying down on his side before joining him again, her eyes half closed with exhaustion.

Clint pulled the blanket over them both as Darcy curled up against him, her small hands resting against his pecs as she drifted off into sleep. His mind had come up with a whole bunch of different ways this could play out tonight, this being the least likely of them all, and yet here he was, simply sleeping with a girl who had been nothing but friendly and trusting. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, he hated to admit it to himself, but he knew he was going to end up hurting her. His past was too much of an indicator of that to deny it.

Clint forced his mind to stop thinking, focusing on Darcy's steady intake of breath and the soft hiccup she gave every now an then as she exhaled, slowly joining her in sleep, though his dreams where far less peaceful.


End file.
